Thursday, September 01, 2005

Hurricane Katrina

Just a note to say I haven't really dropped off the face of the earth, just haven't felt like blogging lately. Fall semester has started, and that automatically means that adjusting to the crowds and organized chaos on campus has left me exhausted.

I am so overwhelmed and sad about the suffering caused by Hurricane Katrina that I had to stop watching the news. Gerrie posted some info about how to help, and so did Arlee.

From www.quilts.com:To quilters everywhere:The devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast is beyond belief. Here in Houston our hearts are heavy with sorrow for all the horrible losses, and we are preparing to welcome the thousands of refugees that are being bussed to us because they have lost their homes or have no access to whatever is left of their homes. Like so many other people, we want to help. Knowing quilters, we think you want to help, too, because there are no more generous, giving, open-hearted people than quilters.Therefore, we are launching QUILTERS COMFORT AMERICA--a two-part drive for Hurricane Katrina relief--and we urge you to join us in this project.PART 1: Urgent Donations to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. We will match EVERY donation made by quilters to the American Red Cross, up to a maximum of $10,000, on a dollar for dollar basis. For more information on how to participate, clickHERE.PART 2: QUILTS FOR COMFORTMany thousands of the Katrina refugees are being sent to Houston RIGHT NOW, and no one knows how long they will have to be here. Most of them escaped the hurricane's fury with only the clothes on their backs--nothing more--and they may have absolutely nothing to go home to. They don't even know.

Part 2 of QUILTERS COMFORT AMERICA is the collection of quilts of all kinds to be distributed to the refugees here in Houston so that they have something soft to sleep on instead of the hard concrete floors of the temporary shelters and something warm to cover up with against the chill of otherwise welcome air-conditioning (we've been in the 90s and 100s for weeks now). Quilt Festival will serve as the collection point for these quilts, and we will deliver them DAILY to the American Red Cross staffing the refugee centers in Houston, where they will be distributed by the Red Cross volunteers. Because we are right here in Houston where more than 25,000 of the refugees will be, we can make a difference RIGHT NOW...if you'll help. For more information on how to participate, click HERE.

Time is critical--the need is NOW! People are arriving by the hour, children and old folks are bedding down on the cold concrete, bedding is needed by people of all ages who have lost everything in this horrible storm. Please help if you can.QUILTERS COMFORT AMERICA.Karey Patterson BresenhanDirector, International Quilt Festival--Houston and Chicago

Jen again: This is a wonderful offer, to match dollar for dollar, giving us all a chance to make the gift count even more.

I am not a speedy quilt maker, but I probably have a couple of quilts already made that I can send. It is so little, but it will make me feel like I have done a little something to express my concern.